Cork County Council presses for dredging of rivers 'to mitigate against flooding in the short-term'

Senior Cork County Council officials are trying to get Inland Fisheries Ireland to alter its decision not to allow dredging of the rivers in Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen, and Glanmire to go ahead.

Councillors reacted with fury to news last week that Inland Fisheries Ireland was refusing to allow dredging in rivers running through these towns, because it said it didn’t want any riverbed works carried out when the Office of Public Works had already put together comprehensive plans for flood relief programmes there.

County engineer David Keane said that under the Local Authority Works Act (1949) the council was allowed “certain discretion” to overturn this in the event of emergencies.